Cadillac Seville / Cadillac Eldorado Forum Discussion, Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles) in Past Cadillac Vehicle Discussion; Rather than hanging a qualifier such as &quot;I could be wrong&quot;, or &quot;correct me if I am wrong&quot; as your ...

Rather than hanging a qualifier such as "I could be wrong", or "correct me if I am wrong" as your "answer" to a question. why not provide accurate / useful information? Or nothing at all.

Since 1980, North American vehicles have designated the model / year information as the 10th VIN character. Because of the possibility of misteaks, not all letters are used and fewer than 10 numbers are used.

My 1998 Seville (a North American vehicle) had a VIN 10th character of W.
My 2004 Deville (a North American vehicle) had a VIN 10th character of 4.

European Union countries use their own system to register the year / models of Jag-U-ars, Bavarian Motor Weapons and other "domestic" vehicles. How that scheme is applied to North American or Asian vehicles is a mystery to me.

And do not allow me to get started on the absurdity of 1999 being the worst year for head gasket failure (or a failure of any kind).

Re: Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles)

As posted by JimD, here's the breakdown of the 2000 - 2004 Seville VIN character definitions.

Many overseas countries (OUTUS) use the date of first registration as the "model year". But the driver's door sticker gives the actual build date. The GM "model year" runs from about 07/YR to 06/YR - My 2002 Seville build ran from 07/01 to 06/02. We have a member who drives a "2001" STS but it was built in early 1999 - a VERY different car from a 2001.

Re: Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles)

First off thanks to everyone for all the great advice. Secondly I just test drove the car and wow is not for me, not this particular one any way. The guy selling told me about the windows and the door issue but he forgot to mention the broken trim, bad paint and really rough running motor. It was just in terrible condition. I still want a 1998 to 2004 STS I just need to keep looking. I fly for free so if you know of a good deal anyplace in the US let me know. I can always go pick one up. I will let you all know when I find my STS.

Re: Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles)

The newer F55 (Magnetic Ride Control) Seville TS was built from 01-15-02 to 06-03. There is no "2004" STS. ALL Seville production ceased in 12-03, so the last SLS was built in the "2004" model year - not the STS.

2000 saw the change to roller cams and coil-on-plug ignition. Two VERY big reasons (among hundreds) to stay away from a pre-2000 car.

Re: Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles)

Rule of thumb for most cars, but especially Cadillac's: Buy the nicest, lowest mileage example you can with service records and all. Coolant changes are crucial to these cars as evidenced by the Northstar head gasket issues. The lady who owned my 2000 STS maintained everything except the coolant and at 54k miles guess what... it blew a head gasket. Also, don't assume the '00+ cars are immune either (as evidenced by my 54k mile STS) because I have seen a few more of them pop up lately. Honestly, if I were buying Seville STS I'd stick to strictly '02+ STS models. Most of the bugs were worked out and they offered up the aftermentioned F55 suspension which is cheaper to replace and better handling than previous CVRSS models.

I made a video two years back highlighting some common Seville issues, so check it out:

Re: Soon to be New Cadillac Owner, Buying a 2001 STS (86K Miles)

Still no luck in my search for a decent STS. I saw a 2000 yesterday that was a joke. It idled rough, the A/C blew hot on the driver side and it smelt of burnt oil. It also had an aftermarket sunroof. I am going to look at a 2002 with 110K miles on it that has had the head gaskets, replaced along with all belts, hoses and a bunch of other stuff. Wish me luck.